Chris Calloway
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Christopher Fitzpatrick Calloway (born March 29, 1968) is a former
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
player. Calloway played professional football as a wide receiver in the
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) for 11 seasons, including seven seasons for the New York Giants from 1992 to 1998. He was the Giants' leading receiver for four consecutive seasons from 1995 to 1998 and set a franchise record with a pass reception in 47 consecutive games from 1996 to 1998. At the end of his time with the Giants, his 334 catches rank third in franchise history. He also played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1990 to 1991, the Atlanta Falcons in 1999 and the New England Patriots in 2000. A native of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, Calloway played college football as a flanker for the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
from 1987 to 1989. He caught 56 passes for 826 yards and eight touchdowns at Michigan. He played on two
Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
championship teams and appeared in two Rose Bowl Games for the Wolverines.


Early years

Calloway was born in
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, in 1968. He attended Mount Carmel High School in Chicago.


University of Michigan

Calloway enrolled at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1986 and played college football as a flanker for head coach Bo Schembechler's Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1987 to 1989. He started five games at the flanker position in
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
, five games at flanker and one at split end in
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
, and 12 games at flanker in
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
. He won both the Meyer Morton Award and the Robert P. Ufer Award in 1989. In his three years as a receiver at Michigan, he caught 56 passes for 826 yards and eight touchdowns.(to retrieve Calloway's statistics, enter "calloway" in the box for the player's last name)


Professional football


Pittsburgh Steelers

Calloway was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round (97th overall pick) of the
1990 NFL Draft The 1990 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1990, at the Marriott Mar ...
. He was principally a backup receiver and
special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
player for the Steelers. He appeared in 28 games, two as a starter, during the 1990 and 1991 seasons. He caught 25 passes for 378 yards and two touchdowns with the Steelers.


New York Giants

In March 1992, the New York Giants signed Calloway as a Plan B free agent. Calloway spent seven seasons with the Giants, appearing in 112 games, including 86 as a starter. He caught 334 passes for 4,710 yards (14.1 yards per catch) and 27 touchdowns. He had his best seasons in (58 catches for 849 yards and eight touchdowns) and (62 catches for 812 yards and six touchdowns). He was the Giants' leading receiver for four straight years from 1995 to 1998 and set a franchise record with a pass reception in 47 straight games from 1996 to 1998. In 1998, Calloway's last season with the Giants, he led the team with 62 receptions for 812 yards and 6 touchdowns. His 62 receptions were the most by a Giant receiver since
Lionel Manuel Lionel Manuel, Jr. (born April 13, 1962) is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver. He was drafted in the 7th round (171st pick overall) of the 1984 NFL Draft by the New York Giants, and played sev ...
in 1988. He was released by the Giants in February 1999, a move which he said had surprised him after leading the team in receptions for the previous four consecutive seasons. He was due just over $1 million and had a $300,000 bonus due on March 1. At the end of his seven seasons with the Giants, his 334 catches ranked third in franchise history behind
Frank Gifford Francis Newton Gifford (August 16, 1930 – August 9, 2015) was an American football player, actor, and television sports commentator. After a 12-year playing career as a halfback and flanker for the New York Giants of the National Foo ...
(367 catches) and Joe Morrison (395 catches).


Atlanta Falcons

In February 1999, following a visit with the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
Calloway signed with the Atlanta Falcons, reuniting him with former Giants head coach
Dan Reeves Daniel Edward Reeves (January 19, 1944 – January 1, 2022) was an American football running back and coach in the National Football League (NFL). During his 38 years in the NFL, Reeves participated in nine Super Bowls, the third most for an ...
. Calloway's agent, Peter Schaffer, stated that Calloway's contract was for nearly $4 million. Calloway appeared in 11 games for the Falcons, six as a starter, and caught 22 passes for 314 yards and one touchdown. Calloway was released by the Falcons in May 2000


New England Patriots

In August 2000, Calloway signed with the New England Patriots, bringing him back together with former Giants assistant and new Patriots assistant coach,
Dick Rehbein Richard Rehbein (November 22, 1955 – August 6, 2001) was an American football coach for twenty-three seasons in the NFL, filling a variety of roles as an offensive position coach. Playing career Rehbein attended Ripon College, where he was a ...
. He appeared in seven games, two as a starter, for the Patriots in . He caught only five passes for 95 yards.


NFL career statistics


Later years

After retiring from football, Calloway bought a nightclub in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
called "Fuel". He later became involved with an Atlanta businessman who Calloway claimed "nearly milked him dry in a treacherous Ponzi scheme." As of 2020, he lives in Houston, TX and is married to Crystal L. Calloway.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calloway, Chris 1968 births Living people American football wide receivers Michigan Wolverines football players Pittsburgh Steelers players New York Giants players Atlanta Falcons players New England Patriots players Players of American football from Chicago Ed Block Courage Award recipients